Beautician&#39;s towel



26, 1955 SCHMEER 2,706,861

BEAUTICIANS TOWEL Filed March 26, 1953 'INVENTOR.

flnn Mf-S'chm eer BY United States Patent BEAUTICIANS TOWEL Ann M.Schmeer, Portland, Oreg.

Application March 26, 1953, Serial No. 344,857

Claims. (Cl. 3490) This invention pertains to beauticians towels, andrelates particularly to the novel construction of a towel by which thelatter may be used both as a shoulder cape while shampooing andotherwise treating the hair and as a protective and absorbent shieldduring drying of the hair under the conventional drying hood.

It is the principal object of the present invention to provide abeauticians towel which is adapted in one position of adjustment toprotect the shoulders of the patron and which is adapted in anotherposition of adjustment to shield the face, neck and shoulders from theheated air of a hair drying hood while permitting freedom of movement ofthe head within the said drying hood.

Another important object of the present invention is the provision of abeauticians towel which functions, while shielding the head, neck andshoulders from the heated air of a hair drying hood, to reduce by asubstantial amount the time required to dry the hair.

A further important object of this invention is to provide a beauticianstowel of the foregoing type which is adjustable to various sizes ofheads and various types of drying hoods.

A still further object of the present invention is the provision of abeauticians towel which is of simplified construction and thereforeeconomical in cost, which is manipulated to desired positions of usewith maximum facility, and which is attractive in use.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of this invention willappear from the following detailed description taken in connection withthe accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure l is a plan view of a beauticians towel embodying the features ofthe present invention;

Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the beauticians towel positionedon a patron to function as a protective shoulder cape;

Figures 3, 4 and 5 are perspective views showing the beauticians towelin the initial, intermediate and final stages, respectively, ofadjustment preparatory to use as a protective and absorbent shieldduring drying of the hair under a drying hood; and

Figure 6 is a view in side elevation showing the beauticians towel inits final stage of adjustment on a drying hood, parts being broken awayto disclose details of said adjustment and operation.

Referring particularly to Figure l of the drawing, the beauticians towelof the present invention is shown to comprise a rectangular sheet 10 offlexible material having corners 11, 12, 13 and 14. The flexiblematerial is preferably absorbent cloth of the type used for towels,although it will be apparent from the subsequent description that othertypes of cloth and other materials such as paper or plastic sheeting maybe employed. Greater efficiency of operation is achieved with the towelmaterial, however.

The rectangular sheet 10 is cut away, intermediate the ends of theforward edge 15, to form a substantially U-shaped opening 16 extendingtoward the rearward edge 17 of the sheet. This opening forms theneckline of the shoulder cape (Figure 2) and therefore is preferablycontoured to fit the neck.

In order to accommodate use of the beauticians towel as a protectiveshoulder cape, as illustrated in Figure 2 of the drawing, there isprovided adjacent the corners 18, 19 formed at the intersection of theforward edge and the side edges of the opening 16 "ice a pair ofcooperating fastening elements, such as the male element 21 and thefemale element 21' of a conventional snap fastener. These elements aresecured together after the towel has been draped over the shoulders tomaintain the cape in proper protective position l(luring shampooing,waving, or other treatment of the air.

Also provided on the sheet 10 adjacent the forward edge 15 is aplurality of pairs of cooperating fastening elements, such as the maleelements 22, 23, 24 and the corresponding female elements 22, 23', 24',the male and female elements being positioned symmetrically on oppositesides of the neck opening 16 and intermediate the corners 11, 19 and 12,18, respectively. These male and female elements project from the sideof the sheet 10 opposite the side from which the elements 21, 21'project, as explained in detail hereinafter.

Secured to the sheet 10 adjacent the rear corner 13 is one section 25,for example the male section, of another snap fastener, the cooperatingfemale section 25 thereof being secured to one end of an elastic strap26. Still another snap fastener is provided, one section 27 beingsecured to sheet 10 adjacent rear corner 14 and the cooperating section27' being secured to the end of strap 26 opposite the snap section 25'.

The fastening elements 22-27 are utilized in the following manner whenit is desired to use the beauticians towel as a protective and absorbentshield while drying the air under a conventional dryer hood 30: With thetowel arranged as a cape, as in Figure 2, the patron disconnects thesnap elements 21, 21 and allows the corners 18, 19 to fall away to theposition shown in Figure 3. The patron then grasps the cooperating snapelements 22, 22' between the fingers of each hand and swings the sameoutward and upward to the position shown in Figure 4 and then snaps theelements 22, 22 together. In this position the towel is secured firmlybut comfortably about the head slightly below the hairline. The surfaceof the towel facing the hair is the same surface which is in view inFigure 2, i. e. the towel is inverted when rearranged as describedabove.

The patron also snaps together the outermost elements 24, 24'. In theevent the head of the patron is smaller than illustrated in the drawingand the snap fastener 22, 22' cannot be used, the patron uses the snapfastener 23, 23, or the combination of snap fasteners 22, 22' and 23,23', to secure the towel about the head. In any case the triangularsections of the towel on which are secured the fastener elements 21, 21are disposed in between the head and the main body of the towel, asshown in dotted line in Figure 4.

The patron then seats herself at the drying hood 30 and the attendantarranges the edge of the towel around the drying hood as follows: It isto be observed, in Figure 6, that the snap fastener 24, 24 is positionedabove the lower edge of the drying hood, whereby the towel 10 is placedin contact with the hood. The attendant now extends the elastic strap 26around the rear side of the hood above the drying hood stand 31 andsecures the snap elements 25', 27' to their corresponding elements 25,27 mounted at the rear corners 13, 14 of the towel. The adjustability ofthe strap accommodates the use of the towel on drying hoods of allshapes and sizes.

The elastic strap 26 draws the towel rearwardly and provides a snug fitbetween the hood and the portion of the towel extending between thefastener 24, 24' and the fasteners 25, 25" and 27, 27'. The rearwardportion of the towel adjacent edge 17 hangs loosely downward, providingan open space 32 between it and the bottom rear edge of the drying hood(Figure 6) for the passage of warm moist air outwardly from the hood andrearwardly of the neck of the patron.

Not all of the moisture-laden air passes outwardly through the space 32,however, for when the dryer fan is energized the towel surrounding thesides and front of the head is seen to billow outwardly, and a slightdraft of warm air is detected passing outwardly and upwardly through thetowel.

During the drying operation the patron may move her head about, withinsubstantial limits, without dislodging the towel from its properposition on the head and hood, thus greatly relieving the tensionnormally attending this sitting. When the head is rotated within thehood, the towel merely slides about the outer surface of the dryinghood. The firm peripheral contact of the towel about the patrons headprevents the warm moist air from passing downwardly over the face andneck, thereby obviating the major cause of discomfort normally attendingthe drying of the hair.

As stated hereinbefore, various types of sheet material may be used.However, it has been discovered that when toweling material, such asTerry or Turkish cloth or other moisture absorbent cloth, is used in thedrying time under the hood is reduced almost by half, compared with thetime required to properly dry the hair under the hood by theconventional method, i. e. without the use of any shield. It is believedthat this reduction in drying time results from the rapid absorption ofmoisture carried in the warm air as the latter passes outwardly throughthe towel. In any event, the reduction in drying time is not only aconvenience to the patron, but it also represents a substantial economicadvantage to the beauty salon operators in accommodating the treatmentof substantially twice the number of patrons within a given time.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes inthe structural details described hereinbefore may be made withoutdeparting from the scope and spirit of this invention. For example, thesnap fasteners may be replaced by other types of cooperating fasteningmeans such as buttons and button holes, slide fasteners, tie strings,pins, or other suitable means, as desired. The number of fasteningelements may be changed to accommodate a greater range of head sizes andvarious types of dryer hoods. In the event the towel is to be used withone type of dryer hood the strap 26 may be made of nonelastic materialsuitably dimensioned to hold the towel in proper position. The strap 26may also be replaced by tie strings, if so desired.

The above and other changes may be made within the scope of thisinvention and, accordingly, it is to be understood that the foregoingdescription is illustrative of the invention and is not to be consideredin a limiting sense.

Having now described my invention and the manner in which the same maybe used, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A beauticians towel adapted to form a protective shield when dryingthe hair under a dryer hood, said towel comprising a substantiallyrectangular sheet of flexible material having separated ends and anopening extending substantially centrally from the forward edge of thesheet material toward the rearward edge thereof, a first pair ofcooperating fastening means on the sheet material positioned adjacentthe forward edge and spaced laterally outward with respect to the saidopening for securing the towel about the head of the wearer, a secondpair of cooperating fastening means on the sheet material positionedadjacent the forward edge and spaced laterally outward with respect tothe first pair of fastening means for securing the forward side of thetowel in contact with the dyer hood, and fastener means connecting therearward ends of the sheet together about the dryer hood, a portion ofthe rear edge of the sheet material depending in spaced relation belowthe rear edge of the dryer hood to provide therebetween an air outlet.

2. The beauticians towel of claim 1 wherein the flexible sheet iscomposed of moisture-absorbent material.

3. beauticians towel adapted in one position of adjustment to form aprotective shoulder cape and in another position of adjustment to form aprotective shield when drying the hair under a dryer hood, said towelcomprising a substantially rectangular sheet of flexible material havingseparated ends and an opening extending substantially centrally from theforward edge of the sheet material toward the rearward edge thereof, afirst pair of cooperating fastening means on the sheet material adjacentthe said opening and forward edge for securing the towel about the neckof the wearer, a second pair of cooperating fastening means on the sheetmaterial positioned adjacent the forward edge and spaced laterallyoutward with respect to the first named pair for securing the towelabout the head of the wearer, a third pair of cooperating fasteningmeans on the sheet material positioned adjacent the forward edge andspaced laterally outward with respect to the second pair of fasteningmeans for securing the forward side of the towel in contact with thedryer hood, and fastener means connecting the rearward ends of the sheettogether about the dryer hood, a portion of the rear edge of the sheetmaterial depending in spaced relation below the rear edge of the dryerhood to provide therebetween an air outlet.

4. The beauticians towel of claim 3 wherein the flexible sheet iscomposed of moisture-absorbent material.

5. A beauticians towel adapted in one position of adjustment to form aprotective shoulder cape and an another position of adjustment to form aprotective shield when drying the hair under a dryer hood, said towelcomprising a substantially rectangular sheet of flexiblemoisture-absorbent material having separated ends and an openingextending substantially centrally from the forward edge of the sheetmaterial toward the rearward edge thereof, a first pair of cooperatingfastening means on the sheet material adjacent the said opening andforward edge for securing the towel about the neck of the wearer, asecond pair of cooperating fastening means on the sheet materialpositioned adjacent the forward edge and spaced laterally outward withrespect to the first named pair for securing the towel about the head ofthe wearer, a third pair of cooperating fastening means on the sheetmaterial positioned adjacent the forward edge and spaced laterallyoutward with respect to the second pair of fastening means for securingthe forward side of the towel in contact with the dryer hood, andelastic fastener means releasably connecting the rearward ends of thesheet together about the dryer hood, a portion of the rear edge of thesheet material depending in spaced relation below the rear edge of thedryer hood to provide therebetween an air outlet.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS573,618 Rice Dec. 22, 1896 586,132 Lane July 13, 1897 1,577,945Blumenthal Mar. 23, 1926 2,205,972 Davis June 25, 1940 2,290,455 StephenJuly 21, 1942 2,420,916 Sorge May 20, 1947 2,446,790 Scola Aug. 10, 19482,456,180 Garing Dec. 14, 1948 2,567,524 Morganti Sept. 11, 1951

